*BAGHDAD, Jan
24 (IPS) – The elections due Jan. 30 appear to have brought more
chaos and division amongst Iraqis than unity and hope. And they have brought
greater security fears.*

U.S.-appointed
prime minister Iyad Allawi acknowledged last week that full security will
be impossible. This despite the rather draconian measures his interim government
will have in place.

The government
has announced plans to close borders Jan. 29-31. It will cut mobile and
satellite phone services, ban travel between Iraq’s 18 provinces,
lengthen curfew hours and restrict use of vehicles.

Security at
polling stations will be heavy. The government plans to set up three security
rings around each of the 9,000 polling stations.

But the government
is preparing for a bloody day despite such measures. The health ministry
has announced it will provide more hospital beds, medical supplies and
staff for the day. The U.S. military will run extra patrols to respond
faster to attacks.

With at least
eight candidates killed, and many others receiving daily death threats,
campaigning has mostly consisted of parties employing staff to post leaflets
and set up posters. Many of the posters are torn down the same day, while
others are burned.

The polling
process itself is confusing many people. With 7,785 mostly unnamed candidates
on the lists of 83 coalitions of political parties, voters have little
idea who they will be voting for. Each list contains between 83 and 275
candidates, running on platforms championing all sorts of causes.

The ‘candidates’ lists
have names such as ‘The Security and Stability List’, ‘The
Security and Justice List’ and the ‘Iraq List’. Many
include fancy graphics, but few carry candidate photographs.

Allawi is a
member of a list running under the slogan ‘For a strong, secure,
prosperous, democratic and unified Iraq’. Most candidate lists do
not mention the occupation of Iraq.

One election
poster reads, “Let the polls be our answer to the car bombings and
insecurity”. Another has a smiling face of a man with the promise
that this list will focus on restoring electricity.

The lists are
mostly sectarian. Kurdish lists are focused on winning Kirkuk for Kurds,
and obtaining a top government post. Shias have their own lists, some seeking
federalism, others an Iranian-style regime.

The Association
of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni group, has called for a boycott in protest
against the destruction of Fallujah by the U.S.. military. Local people
estimate that 90 percent of Sunnis will not vote. Members representing
Sunni Muslims would in that event have to be appointed..

Most voters
are expected to be Shia Muslims. Their revered Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
has issued a fatwa instructing his followers to vote.

“I will
vote because Sistani has told us this will help the country,” said
Abdel Hassan, a shoemaker in the predominantly Shia district Karrada in
Baghdad. “And I am ready to do anything to help my country.”

Other Iraqis
appear to be firmly against the elections.

“How can
we vote when we don’t know any of the candidates,” said a Shia
man who gave his name as Ghassan. “And how can any of them help a
country that is occupied by invaders?”

Just the fear
of violence is certain to keep many voters at home. “We don’t
know when the next bullet will come so we are staying in our homes most
of the time,” said Abdulla Hamid, a 35-year-old father of five who
sells vegetables in Baghdad. “I would vote if there was security,
but this election is confusing to me and seems to be causing so many problems
already.”

Some believe
voting will help security. “I will be voting for Allawi because I
think he can help Iraq,” says Suthir Hamiz, whose husband works in
the supply department at a U.S. military camp. “I think he can bring
security.”

Hamoudi Aziz,
who drives his car as a taxi while looking for a better job, says the elections
themselves have brought a worsening of the security situation. “I’m
not even safe in my own home under this martial law,” he said when
asked if he will vote. “So how am I expected to vote for this crazy
parliament?”

_______________________________________________
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